Dimmed Light
by AmethystBurns
Summary: When the yamis left for an afterlife, two hikaris struggle through their loss.  As their life goes on, what happens when they finally see what was once hidden?  RxY Heartshipping, Side: SxJ Puppyshipping
1. Prologue

**Amethyst: First story on here! Might as well go with the traditional Ceremonial Duel after-story. Seems appropriate for Heartshipping.**

**Main Pairing: RyouxYugi (There is a side pairing of SetoxJou) **

**Enjoy the story! R&R please!**

**Prologue**

Ryou's POV:

Darkness without its light, and light without its darkness; was that the best way for everything to end? I had my doubts, and I'm sure my fellow hikari had them too.

Hikaris, that's what we are. After all, our other halves were known as yamis. It seemed very appropriate.

Malik, Yugi, and I were separated from our darkness, and it left an unfilled gap in our beings. Or, at least it left a gap in mine and Yugi's. Malik, on the other hand, was glad to be rid of his psychotic yami, even though Malik was nearly as insane. Even though mine was rather insane, I couldn't help but miss him. He somehow planted himself a spot in my heart, and now that was gone too. But Yugi, he had the best reason to suffer from his loss. Yami called Yugi his aibou, his partner, and he was always there when Yugi needed him. Inseparable, even after the incident with the Seal of Oricalcos, those two were. I can't imagine how much the Ceremonial Duel's outcome must have affected him.

I couldn't help but feel jealous of their past relationship, although the true reason eluded me. Sure, it could've been because my yami didn't care too much for my wellbeing or my life while his cared about his everything, but for some reason it felt like there was some greater cause.

I shrugged it off, and let myself sink deeper into an old, dull blue couch. The apartment looked just as old, although I barely noticed. I'd hardly come here while Bakura had control over my body, which explained the layers of dust covering the unused furniture.

The room was a pale grey, it was depressing really. The wall could use some decorations, a small painting at the very least. It would give me something to look at.

I couldn't watch the television, for sure. The screen was shattered, probably a victim of one of Bakura's temper tantrums. I'd probably find that missing kitchen knife inside the abused device. Maybe later I would find that cheese grater…

My eyes wandered toward an old picture frame atop the TV, the photograph it held hidden by more dust. Well there was something to look at.

The couch creaked as I lifted myself off, raising my arms over my head for a quick stretch. How long have I been sitting there? Disregarding that matter, I curiously made my way towards the frame.

I rubbed away the dust with my thumb, holding the picture frame upright with my other hand to keep it from falling back. I coughed a little just thinking about how much dust must be on my thumb right now.

I uncovered part of the picture, to see a familiar pair of bright, amethyst eyes.

I paused in my work as my breath hitched. That unnatural eye color, the innocent and childlike radiance. These were…Yugi's, right?

* * *

><p>After scolding myself for my hesitation, I quickly went to my phone. It was an underused, plastic phone. It wasn't like I had many people to talk to, and I don't remember the last time I ever did speak with someone. But now, I planned to.<p>

'I should call Yugi,' I thought, my arms planted firmly at my sides, 'But he's probably busy. Maybe out dueling with his friends or something.' Something nagged in the back of my head to at least try, maybe leaving a voicemail as another option.

I let my hand reach out for the phone, only to fall back to my side.

'Maybe he's forgotten about me…is it even worth trying?'

That last thought was shot down by another. 'Yugi is worth it.'

I lunged for the phone, and quickly realized something vitally important.

I didn't have his phone number.

* * *

><p>The phonebook wasn't my best friend in the whole world, but thankfully I doubted that there were many Yugi Motou's in Japan.<p>

'He's definitely a special boy,' I thought.

It didn't take me long to locate some kind of house number under his grandfather's name. Thankfully, I took the time to remember it. I copied the number onto a note, writing Yugi's name on it, and slipped it by the phone for future reference. I wouldn't trust my memory with such an important phone number.

I dialed the number carefully, and put the receiver to my ear. The low background rings of the phone's connection filled the silence of the house.

_Riiing_

_ Riiing_

_ Riiing_

_ Riii- Click_

I made a nervous squeak, although I meant for even a hint of a 'Hello.' That was a quite embarrassing moment for my voice to fail.

"Hello?"

**Amethyst: I'll end it here! Sorry if this seems rushed, I'm an amateur after all. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Amethyst: Continuation! Everyone, cheer!**

**Everyone: -doesn't cheer-**

**Amethyst: …Well then.**

**Main Pairing: RyouxYugi**

**With Side Pairing: SetoxJou**

_Riiing_

_ Riiing_

_ Riiing_

_ Riii- Click_

_I made a nervous squeak, although I meant for even a hint of a 'Hello.' That was a quite embarrassing moment for my voice to fail._

_ "Hello?" _

**Chapter 1**

Normal POV:

That was definitely not Yugi's voice. It seemed older and was deeper, no offense to Yugi really who had a high-pitched voice. Ryou didn't mind that though. Anyway, this was definitely his grandfather.

"Hi…this is Ryou. Ryou Bakura. I called to talk to Yugi."

"Ah! So you did. That's wonderful, I'll get him."

That seemed somewhat strange to Ryou. Yugi's grandfather seemed very excited for some reason that Ryou couldn't fathom. But, shrugging it off, Ryou quickly dusted himself off thinking he might as well be presentable. The thought apparently didn't occur to him that Yugi couldn't possibly see him through the phone.

"Hi Ryou," a timid voice called over the line, shocking Ryou enough to drop the phone.

Ryou facepalmed, and quickly snatched the receiver back up and held it up to his face.

"Sorry! I just dropped the phone, you surprised me!" Ryou quickly apologized.

To his relief, the other giggled.

"Sorry for scaring you," Yugi said, "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Ryou admitted sadly.

"Same here," Yugi sighed.

"Really? What about those friends of yours?" Ryou said carefully. He was unsure if he was friends with them as well.

"Oh…they've all been busy," Yugi said, pausing for a second, "Tea went to America to study, Duke's business has been keeping him occupied, and Tristan is on a bike tour with Serenity."

The thought of them all being apart was strange. They seemed the closest of any people he knew, although he didn't really know too many people.

"And…what about Joey?" Ryou recalled that Yugi and Joey were best friends.

"Uh…" Yugi trailed off.

Ryou continued, "I mean, you didn't mention him being busy. You two aren't doing anything together?"

For some reason, saying that left a sour taste in Ryou's mouth. 'Joey and Yugi are really good friends…' he thought.

"Well, he actually is busy with…someone."

"Eh? Tristan?" Ryou guessed, "I mean, if Tristan is with Joey's sister then-"

"Ah, no! Not with Tristan."

"...Mai?" Ryou tried again. It seemed like another good guess. "Are those two…dating?"

Yugi giggled again, and Ryou took that as him being wrong once more.

"Well then, who is busy with?" Ryou questioned, getting more and more curious about the matter at hand.

"…Seto."

"…Are they dueling?"

"They're going out."

Ryou blinked, "…Going out to duel?"

Yugi laughed, "No, silly! I mean they're dating!"

Ryou never saw that coming. Ever. It was massively surprising, and conquered anything else he'd done. (And he'd done some weird things while being controlled by Yami Bakura.)

"That was…unexpected."

* * *

><p>The two hikaris talked over the phone for a couple hours, only to be stopped by Yugi's grandfather who didn't want the phone bills to bankrupt the shop. Ryou was still glad for the time he talked to Yugi, and he didn't regret calling at all. He only regretted not calling sooner.<p>

Ryou was especially looking forward to tomorrow. Somewhere along in the conversation, they both agreed to meet up at the Domino Park. It had been a long while since the two have met face to face, and Ryou was dying to meet his friend.

Ryou hummed softly as he prepared an easy, microwave dinner for himself. He was too tired to scavenge the house for his kitchen utensils. He only needed some warm food to satisfy his hunger, as well as the happy news and looking forward to tomorrow.

Maybe later this week, he'd paint the walls too.

**Amethyst: Sorry this took so long to post! It's rather short, but I promise the next chapter will be long and fulfilling. We might even get a guest appearance from Seto and Joey!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Amethyst: Sorry this took a while, but enjoy please! And before I forget, because I've been forgetting this whole time… Yami do the disclaimer.**

**Yami: AmethystBurns does not own YuGiOh, thank Ra for that, or any of its characters. The story idea is hers, though.**

**Amethyst: Thanks Yami!**

**Yami: Bleh.**

_The two hikaris talked over the phone for a couple hours, only to be stopped by Yugi's grandfather who didn't want the phone bills to bankrupt the shop. Ryou was still glad for the time he talked to Yugi, and he didn't regret calling at all. He only regretted not calling sooner._

_Ryou was especially looking forward to tomorrow. Somewhere along in the conversation, they both agreed to meet up at the Domino Park. It had been a long while since the two have met face to face, and Ryou was dying to meet his friend._

_Ryou hummed softly as he prepared an easy, microwave dinner for himself. He was too tired to scavenge the house for his kitchen utensils. He only needed some warm food to satisfy his hunger, as well as the happy news and looking forward to tomorrow._

_Maybe later this week, he'd paint the walls too._

**Chapter 2**

Normal POV:

To say Ryou was nervous was an understatement.

The morning was spent browsing his entire closet, looking for something suitable to wear. He looked through everything, and tried everything on. He almost went out in a suit, until he realized how stupid that would be. Going to the park in a suit.

His hair was the same, thank goodness, and he wore a simple white sweater over a blue shirt, and navy blue pants as well as some dark brown sneakers. It worked for the simple park look.

It wasn't like it was a _date_ or anything.

That seemed to disappoint Ryou a bit, somehow…

'It's probably because I didn't eat breakfast this morning' he concluded.

So, after finally convincing himself that he knew where the Domino Park was, he marched out the door of his apartment complex to his destination.

And after a long time of just heading to the grocery store to get another filling of TV dinners, it felt strange to him. To be doing something else for a change, it was somewhat foreign. His life had become a repeating record.

Now, it felt at least better. He felt like there was some purpose to go out, and do something new. He had a reason to break the unending, dull chain called his life. He had Yugi to thank for that.

As thoughts of Yugi filled his mind, he almost walked out onto the street on a 'No walking' sign. That would've ruined his getting better day.

But, he didn't. Instead, he was pulled back onto the sidewalk with the others waiting to walk, also being pulled out of his train of thought, and it crashed. The distant reality was brought upon him that he could've clearly died, when a car whizzed by with enough force his white locks flew with the wind across his face.

"Jeez, you gotta look where you're going," a familiar voice said.

Ryou turned around, coming face to face with a tall blonde. He had chocolate brown eyes, like Ryou did, but they were stern and serious. Behind him was an even taller brunette, with cold blue eyes that seemed to pierce Ryou's very person. His aura was frightening, to say the least.

"I-I'm sorry for the trouble," Ryou apologized, giving them a slight bow while trembling.

"…'Ey wait. Ryou? Is that you?" the blonde asked.

Ryou looked up from his bow, the recognition shown on his face. "J-Joey! And Kaiba! What're you doing here?" Ryou had a slight blush on his face, remembering what Yugi had told him about these two.

"It's good to see ya Ryou!" Joey grinned, ruffling Ryou's hair, "We were just heading to the park!"

Ryou gasped, trying to fix up his hair before responding, "Really? Me too…"

"Really? We should go together!"

"Puppy…" Seto warned.

"Aw, come on Seto! Ryou's not gonna judge us."

The walk sign flickered on before Seto could get a word out. Joey grabbed Ryou by the shoulder, and pushed him gently along with them. "I think it's fair to tell ya Ryou, me and Seto are going out."

"Seto and I," Ryou corrected.

"Yea- Hey…"

"I also think it's fair to tell you, Joey, that I already know."

"Since when?" Seto asked coldly.

"Um…yesterday," Ryou answered hesitantly.

The three continued their walk to the park, Joey and Seto with hands locked and Ryou walking in front of them.

"How'd ya find out, Ryou? If it's them tabloids, I swear I'm gonna…"

"No! Don't worry Joey, it's not from them. I don't even read the tabloids. Yugi told me yesterday, on the phone."

Seto and Joey calmed down respectably. "Oh…" they said in unison.

The conversation toned down after that, mostly with Joey telling Ryou how he and Seto got together. Ryou made a couple comments on Joey's grammar, but otherwise said nothing. Joey also told Ryou about how things have changed since Yami, or Atemu, moved on to the afterlife with everyone. Ryou had already known some of it from Yugi, but Joey filled in a lot of blanks.

"How 'bout you, Ryou? How'd ya feel when your yami left?"

Ryou hesitated, and his eyes became downcast. "W-well, things have been empty…" he led off. "B-but I'm glad he's not terrorizing the world anymore!" he quickly added when he was offered their silence.

"Yeah," Seto agreed, "Now there's a lot less evil in the world."

"Although ya still account for a ton of it, Seto," Joey said, grinning.

"Hmph."

Things got uncomfortable for Ryou when his yami was mentioned. He WAS glad his yami couldn't attack innocent people anymore, but now he felt empty inside. Although, before his other side came along he didn't have this problem, and it was like gaining another part of you and then having it torn off. Like, he lost the bottom half of his body and he was just left with a head and arms.

'Okay, that's a weird way to think about it,' he thought with a frown on his face.

"You okay, Ryou?" Jou asked, snapping Ryou from his thoughts, "You were frowning."

"Oh, y-yeah. I'm fine. Hey look, the park!"

Indeed, they arrived at the Domino Park. Now, Ryou felt ten times as nervous as he was before. He almost felt like backing out, but it would've been rude to ditch Yugi.

"Yea! You're right!" Joey cheered, in his usual way.

Seto rolled his eyes, "Settle down, Pup, or I'll have to put you on a leash."

Joey glared at Seto and snorted, before looking over at Ryou again with a calmer gaze. "Why are you here, anyways?"

Ryou felt his cheeks warm up, and he quickly tried to hide his face. "To meet Yugi," he mumbled.

A grin spread on Joey's face, "Really? Yug's here? It'll be like a reunion!"

"You do realize most of your nerd herd isn't here, right?" Seto stated.

"Oh yeah…"

Ryou smiled a bit as Joey then began to bicker with Seto about calling his friends a 'nerd herd', him with a reckless tone and Seto with a more collected one. It humorously resembled a spat of a married couple.

"I thought you guys looked familiar," a new voice said.

Ryou, completely surprised, swung around to meet face-to-face with none other than the King of Games. Joey turned away from his argument with his boyfriend, and Seto just gazed over at the new arrival.

"Hey guys," he said with his usually cheery voice.

"Yo Yug!" Joey greeted, nearly tackling him and ruffling his hair playfully.

"Joey!" Yugi said through a fit of giggles, "Stop messing up my hair!"

"Sorry Yug," Joey replied, backing off his shorter friend, "I think it's an improvement, though!"

"Thanks, Joey," Yugi said pouting. Ryou began to blush when he realized how cute it was.

'Wait, cute?' he thought, before Yugi began speaking again.

"What are you two doing here, anyways?"

"Well," began Seto with a cool gaze, "I was planning to walk Joey in the park."

Joey growled, "I am not a dog! I don't get taken on walks!"

"You should be glad we were heading this way," Seto continued, ignoring his ranting boyfriend, "Your friend nearly got run over on the way here."

"Really?" Yugi asked, concern showing on his face. He immediately rushed over to his white-haired friend, looking him over. "Are you okay? No scrapes, right? It didn't hit you, did it?"

Ryou nervously laughed at the onslaught of questions, answering them calmly. "Yes, no scrapes, I didn't get hit."

Yugi sighed in relief, smiling at Ryou. "That's good, you had me worried there."

"Sorry," Ryou said, "Didn't mean to."

"It's fine," Yugi said, before grabbing Ryou's hand, "Come on, let's go for a walk. Joey, you and Seto can come join us too!"

Ryou realized he was blushing again. 'What is wrong with me today?' he mentally asked, grateful Yugi didn't notice his embarrassed face and was instead trying to convince Joey and Seto to stop arguing.

Ryou looked away until he felt the heat from his face wear off. When he turned back to see how Yugi was progressing, though, it came back.

He noticed Seto and Joey locked in a passionate kiss, with an equally embarrassed Yugi coming back towards him.

"Let's just go," he said, regrabbing Ryou by the hand to lead him away. "They'll be like that for a while."

Ryou mutely nodded, ripping his gaze from the other two, letting himself get dragged away by Yugi.

* * *

><p>"You know, I never did ask, but where have you been all this time?"<p>

Ryou paused in his walk, "Well…I've been at home."

"I can get that," Yugi said, "But have you been busy with something? I haven't seen you in a long while."

"N-not necessarily," Ryou said, "I've just been at my apartment, thinking about…the past."

Yugi nodded, understanding Ryou's vague description of it. "Yeah, I get it. It's strange that this is all over."

"Although, I'm glad there isn't any more life-threatening situations to deal with," Ryou admitted.

"Even though you almost got yourself run over this morning, huh?"

"Oh, you had to bring that up, didn't you?"

The two hikaris laughed heartedly, walking off the park trail to the wide field of grass. They both settled on the ground, lying flat to look up at the sky, side-by-side.

"Do you think they would be mad we left them?"

"Hm?" Yugi asked.

"Joey and Seto," Ryou clarified.

"Oh! No, I don't think so. They're probably having fun by themselves."

Ryou and Yugi blushed simultaneously at the thought.

"Were you surprised when you found out?" Ryou asked Yugi.

Yugi shrugged, although it was not noticeable from their positions. "I was definitely surprised, but I wasn't disgusted or anything. I was happy for them."

"That's reasonable," Ryou said, "Your friends too?"

"They actually don't know," Yugi said, "They've been busy when it happened. I'm not sure how they would react, but I'm sure they wouldn't be disgusted either."

"Yeah," Ryou replied, "You and your friends are very close."

Yugi looked over to Ryou, "You're our friend, too, Ryou."

"I'm just not as close as you guys are, but that's what happens when a sadistic tomb-robber from ancient Egypt is in control of your body most of the time," Ryou said, with a not-so-serious look.

"I guess that makes sense, but I still think we're pretty close."

'Because we have similar situations' Ryou thought. "I can never be as close as you were to Ya- Atemu. You must miss him a lot."

Yugi paused, and Ryou instantly regretted bringing it up.

"…Yeah. But I'm really glad he could return to the afterlife. He belonged there."

Ryou turned his head to Yugi's, and his heart fell when he saw the tears threatening to slip from his eyes. Ryou regretted speaking of the topic ten times more now. Such a sad look didn't look right on the young duelist's face. Ryou sat up, opening his mouth to apologize…

"Sorry," Yugi said, taking the word straight from Ryou's mouth as he also sat up, "I'm getting emotional again. I promised myself I wouldn't."

"N-no! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Ryou said, trying to calm Yugi as the tears fell from his eyes.

"I-it's okay. I should be over this by n-now…" Yugi said, rubbing his palms on his shut eyes, trying to stop his crying, "I'm just being weak."

Ryou frowned at Yugi's negative words, and pulled the smaller duelist into a gentle embrace.

"It's alright Yugi," he whispered, with the same tone he used when he used to comfort his younger sister, Amane, "You're not weak, you're just hurt. I'm hurt too."

"Sorry Ryou," Yugi said, apologizing again, "I'm being selfish about this, I forgot you did as well…"

"Stop apologizing, Yugi. I might've, but you've lost a lot more than I did. I lost the darker half to my soul, and so did you, but you also lost one of your closest friends in the world. You were like family, even."

"I miss him so much," Yugi choked out between sobs.

"I know."

Ryou kept Yugi in his embrace and let him cry himself out. He could tell Yugi had been holding his emotions inside for a while.

'Was he trying for me?' Ryou wondered, 'Because he didn't want me to see him like this?'

For the past while, Ryou had sulked alone in his apartment. He didn't feel like there was anyone to hold his feelings back for in his emptiness. But, Yugi had great friends. Yugi was selfless enough to do anything for his friends, and to keep them from worrying about him.

'Me and the rest of his friends,' Ryou concluded.

…But, why was Ryou not satisfied with being friends?

**AmethystBurns: Lots of writing, and I put Joey and Seto in this like I promised! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Yami: Review or I'll sick Yami Bakura on you!**

**Bakura: *growls as he munches on raw steak***


	4. Chapter 3

**Amethyst: Here's the third chapter! **

**Yami: AmethystBurns does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. **

**Bakura: But she owns the story, so don't think about stealing it. If anyone steals anything, it'll be me!**

**Amethyst: I'll write you with pink hair if you try!**

_Ryou kept Yugi in his embrace and let him cry himself out. He could tell Yugi had been holding his emotions inside for a while. _

'_Was he trying for me?' Ryou wondered, 'Because he didn't want me to see him like this?'_

_For the past while, Ryou had sulked alone in his apartment. He didn't feel like there was anyone to hold his feelings back for in his emptiness. But, Yugi had great friends. Yugi was selfless enough to do anything for his friends, and to keep them from worrying about him._

'_Me and the rest of his friends,' Ryou concluded._

…_But, why was Ryou not satisfied with just being friends?_

**Chapter 3**

Normal POV:

Yugi was mentally punching himself.

After coming back from the park after spending some time with Ryou, he locked himself in his room. Now, he was on his bed, trying to suffocate himself with his small pillow.

"I'm such an idiot!" he cried, though it was muffled by his pillow, "I can't believe I did that!"

He lifted his head from his abused pillow, rubbing his burning eyes. Tears threatened to fall again, but he wouldn't let them.

"He probably feels guilt about that now…How could I let that happen? I just wanted to have a good time with him…"

Yugi stood up from his bed, continually rubbing his eyes. With weak steps, we walked to one of the walls of his bedroom. He put his forehead against the wall, and banged his head against it twice.

"Stupid! Stupid!" he said to himself with both hits.

Then, with a forlorn sigh, he retreated from his wall and sank onto his bed with a sigh.

"Oh Atemu…what would you do?" he asked, with eyes shut tightly. "You were always stronger than me…my darker half, my partner. If it were you, you'd say everything up to his face, right?"

For a long while, Yugi has known he was interested in men. Although, his thoughts lingered on only one familiar, white-headed British boy.

Sometime after Ryou had came to his school as a new student, Yugi had developed a small crush on him. He had to compete with lovestruck schoolgirls, though, and there was a big chance that Ryou wouldn't be gay. So, he kept his feelings a secret.

Atemu, who had a strong bond with Yugi as well as a mind-link, had discovered the young duelist's crush during Duelist Kingdom. He tried to convince Yugi to admit his feelings, but those attempts had stopped when Ryou's yami, 'Bakura', had gotten most of control over Ryou. Yugi did not want the tomb robber to get any ideas.

Now, even with all that over, Yugi was still reluctant to speak his heart to the other. His shy, and not so confident nature didn't help in the least. Instead, he planned to at least content himself with being near the other duelist. But, today wasn't so successful in his mind. He ended up bawling during his time, and the mood dropped up till when they left each other.

'But…' Yugi thought, 'It felt nice to be so near him, in his embrace…'

He sighed again, though contently this time, before grabbing and hugging his pillow.

:::DIMMED LIGHT:::

Ryou returned to his dull apartment, frowning at himself as he closed and locked the door behind him.

"I wonder how Yugi's doing," he muttered, "I hope he's not still upset."

His entire walk back, when he wasn't watching the road carefully for cars, his mind was filled of guilt and remorse for bringing up the now 'forbidden topic'. Yugi had told him over and over he was okay, but Ryou didn't believe that one bit. The King of Games was stubborn, however, and didn't say anything else about it. Ryou wouldn't either.

"Maybe I should call to make sure," Ryou said, thinking aloud. The idea was rejected, though, because he didn't want to be a bother to Yugi.

So, Ryou retired to his old couch, looking through a small catalog he took on his way back home. It was filled of just about every color imaginable, and Ryou wasn't sure which one he liked. Although, he wasn't allowed to paint the walls of his apartment, he was actually planning on someday moving to an actual house. His father, who was working in Egypt, sent him plenty of money. If he saved what he didn't use on necessities, he could eventually move on to at least a small house, and leave this apartment of bad memories.

'I'd like to move on past this old apartment…' Ryou thought, a sigh escaping his lips, 'Get a job somewhere, find that special someone…'

As soon as that thought finished, an image of Yugi popped up into his head. He immediately blushed, and almost slipped out the couch.

"What…was that?" he asked himself.

He once again sank into the old cushions of the couch, and put a hand on his chest, over his rapidly beating heart.

'Am I…in love with Yugi?'

:::DIMMED LIGHT:::

"Have the packages been delivered?"

"Yes, just now. They will be arriving soon."

"To the right owners, correct?"

"Yes. Everything is proceeding as planned."

**Amethyst: That's it for now! Oooh~ Feelings revealed~! And random voices!**

**Bakura: You're way too excited about this.**

**Amethyst: Shush you, FLORENCE.**

**Bakura: WHAT!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Amethyst: Now things are beginning to get extremely interesting…**

**Ryou: Should we be worried?**

**Amethyst: Doesn't matter. Do the disclaimer!**

**Yugi: Amethyst doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. **

**Ryou: But she does own this story.**

"_Have the packages been delivered?"_

"_Yes, just now. They will be arriving soon."_

"_To the right owners, correct?"_

"_Yes. Everything is proceeding as planned."_

**Chapter 4**

Yugi's POV:

Every morning has been routine for the past while. It was the same cycle of waking up, getting changed, eating breakfast, and then helping where I can in the shop. The day before was different, I will admit, but I didn't make any plans for today.

I walk down the stairs in my regular apparel: a black tank top accompanied by navy blue leather pants and leather boots. Though it was mostly…Atemu's style, it had grown on me. That, and it made me feel like I still had a part of him lingering inside me.

When I got to the table, I was prepared to grab a bowl for some cereal with milk. Instead, I was met by the presence of a mysterious, gold-colored package set on the table. I was always somewhat curious, so of course I stopped my hunger to investigate the parcel.

Looking at it, I could see a note set neatly on the package. When I grabbed for it, I realized it was not an average note. It was written on papyrus, which made my curiosity peak more. I unfolded the note, and reading the nicely printed words lined on it.

"Dear Yugi Mutou," I began saying, reading the letter aloud, "A new fate has brought you this package, bringing what was once yours. May it rest over your heart, and bring you greetings of anew. To complete this puzzle once again is your task, and then all will be revealed."

While, sometimes I would get strange, vague letters from my fans, this one didn't tempt me to chuck the paper into the shredder. Instead, I gently put the note on the table, and reached for the package itself. Gingerly, I unwrapped the fine, gold-like paper to reveal a box. Lifting one of the panels on the top of the box, I peeked inside.

What I saw made my heart skip a beat. Pieces, golden pieces, of an all-familiar puzzle rested in the box. They glinted from light that touched each individual part, and the Eye of Horus stared up at me from one of them. It felt like it winked at me.

Like an excited child, I began to pick out each piece from the box, set on putting them together. But, I stopped myself.

'What does this mean?' I thought, 'Someone might be toying with my mind…that, or the gods have given me the puzzle. But…Atemu returned to the afterlife, didn't he?'

I stared down at the Eye of Horus, now in my hands.

'…Is Atemu really back?'

Ryou's POV:

The first thing I heard when I woke up was the phone. In fact, it was what woke me up in the first place.

I'm not one to get a lot of phone calls, so I immediately jumped up from my…bed? Actually, from the couch. Last night's realization left me frozen, filled with thoughts until I finally fell asleep. Then, the thoughts from yesterday hit me like a truck, and Yugi's name raced through my mind. The drumming of my heart almost overshadowed the obnoxious ringing of the phone.

Trying to distract myself, I looked at the Caller ID. Of course, the name I see had to be Yugi's. I shook my head to relieve myself of my daze, and gave the ID another check.

'…Wait,' I thought, 'Yugi IS calling!'

I almost backed away from my phone, but free of my daze I noticed a package set on the table the phone was set up.

'That's strange…I didn't bring anything in yesterday…'

Though, finding it a distraction of the phone, I wandered to it and spotted a note resting on the package. I reached for it, noting the characteristics of papyrus, before reading the note to myself.

"Dear Ryou Bakura…" I started in a whisper, "A new fate has brought you this package, bringing what was once yours. May it rest over your soul, and bring you formal greetings. Sharp daggers once pointed at you, now toward your enemies, and now dull."

I quirked an eyebrow at the elaborate message, then switching my gaze to the golden box. Hesitantly, I reached out and opened it, eyes widening at the sight I saw.

Still golden, with a chain to match, was a ring pendent. In the center of the ring was a triangle shape, with an Eye of Horus embedded in the center. Five sharp prongs hung on the ring, downwards, the whole arrangement gleaming richly.

'The Ring! Wasn't it buried in the tomb?' I exclaimed in my head, slowly backing away, 'This must be a joke! Why would he be back?'

The familiar, dark chuckle rang in my ears. Normal people would've picked the moment to flee, or throw the thing out of the room into a garbage bin. Instead…I felt like tugging it over my head, back around my neck where it once had been.

'…But, is this for real?'

Yugi's POV:

I had already tried calling twice, but both times were unsuccessful. I might've given up, but I convinced myself to punch in the number again. I was growing desperate now, and I would keep calling until I got some kind of answer!

Monotone ringing filled my ears, and I tapped the phone impatiently. After more rings, I felt like giving up, until a click was heard. My breath stopped as it did, but I was prepared to say what I needed to say.

_"H-Hello?" _I heard across the line, remembering what was Ryou's voice. I noticed he sounded nervous.

"Ryou!" I exclaimed in relief, "You wouldn't believe what I just found!"

There was a pause on the other line, before Ryou finally replied. _"…Maybe I would…I f-found something interesting too…"_

I felt my eyes widen in surprise, and was about to speak until I heard Ryou take a deep breath.

_"I found…my Millennium Ring."_

I gasped into the phone, gazing back at the parcel still set in the kitchen. "You did? Did you get it in a golden package? With a papyrus paper?"

Ryou gasped too, _"I-I did! No return address or anything!"_

I clenched my fist nervously, before replying, "I found my puzzle the same way. It's in pieces, though. What do you think is going on, Ryou?"

There was another pause, Ryou was probably thinking of a response. _"I…don't know…Do you suppose the same happened to Malik?'_

I mentally smacked myself, realizing that was probably true. Of course, though, my mind was only set on Ryou. "That's right…I should give him a call. Ryou, do you think you can come over?"

_"W-why's that?" _Ryou asked.

"I…was going to invite Malik over. We all need to talk about this…"

_"Oh. Okay, I'll come over as soon as I can…You want me to bring the...Ring, right?"_

_ "_Yeah," I answered, "Bring that as well."

Ryou said he just needed to get dressed and he'd be right over. I thanked him before hanging up, dialing Malik's number.

Normal POV:

Yugi was sitting on the couch in his small living room. Set on his lap was the package, with each piece of what seemed to be his Puzzle resting inside. He decided not to try solving it yet, at least not until there was some clarification to what might be going on. The ticking of the clock, though, made him nervous. Also, as a game fanatic, it was hard for Yugi not to try and solve the golden puzzle.

Just as Yugi's hand twitched, almost reaching into the box, he heard the doorbell. Quickly, he stood up with the package in his hands, running over to the front door frantically. He gripped the door knob, and swung the door open to reveal the albino youth that was Ryou.

"I'm so glad you came!" Yugi exclaimed, breathing a bit at his short run.

Ryou nodded as Yugi let him inside, "Is that the Puzzle?" he asked, looking down at Yugi's package, identical to the one in his hands.

"Yeah," Yugi answered, "And that's the Ring?"

"Yeah," Ryou replied, looking at his own parcel, "Is Malik coming?"

Yugi nodded, showing Ryou into the living room and sitting on the couch. "Yeah…he got the Rod in a package too…he was extremely freaked out."

Ryou sat down next to Yugi, staring at the open box in the other's lap. "Haven't try putting it together yet?"

Yugi shook his head in response, "No…I wanted to have an idea of what was happening before I attempt it."

Ryou nodded slowly, "I understand." Ryou was feeling antsy sitting next to Yugi, but he didn't want to be impolite.

Yugi bit his lip, feeling the urge to put the Puzzle together again, "I'm not sure what to expect…What if Atemu isn't back? Then I'm getting worked up over a fake Puzzle…"

"Yugi, I-" Ryou began, pausing as loud footsteps echoed through the house. Yugi looked up from his package, hearing them also. "Do you think…?" Yugi asked.

"Guess who!" another voice shouted, as a person slid into the living room. Ryou and Yugi both jumped in their seats, staring at the newcomer.

He had crazy, platinum blonde hair, and dark violet eyes. Golden earrings hung on his ears, and his eyes were lined with Egyptian kohl. He wore a lavender tank-top, and sandy grey pants. His skin was dark, and he was obviously Egyptian. A crooked smile was on his face, and an identical box was held in his hands.

"You didn't guess…" he muttered, readjusting the box in his hands.

"Malik!" Yugi exclaimed, running up to hug his friend, "It's been a while."

"Nice to see you too, shorty. I see whitey is here too! It's like a reunion."

"Hey Malik," Ryou said nervously, with a fiery jealousy burning at the pit of his heart seeing Yugi hug Malik. At least he knew what that odd feeling was…

"I'd rather have a reunion for other reasons…" Yugi muttered, pulling out the piece of the Puzzle with the Eye of Horus. "What do you think this could mean?"

Malik pulled out the familiar, Millennium Rod and Ryou his Millennium Ring.

"My sister and I came up with a theory…but first, what did your notes say?"

Yugi set the puzzle piece back in the box, plucking the note from his pocket. Ryou hung his item around his neck and pulled a papyrus paper from the box. Malik looked up, seeming as if he were to recite the words from his mind.

"Dear Malik Ishtar. A new fate has brought you this package, bringing what was once yours. May it rest near you, and bring you polite greetings. What once scarred your mind, now brought to redeem itself in your eyes."

"Dear Ryou Bakura. A new fate has brought you this package, bringing what was once yours. May it rest over your soul, and bring you formal greetings. Sharp daggers once pointed at you, now toward your enemies, and now dull."

"Dear Yugi Mutou. A new fate has brought you this package, bringing what was once yours. May it rest over your heart, and bring you greetings of anew. To complete this puzzle once again is your task, and then all will be revealed."

The hikaris all paused to let the words sink in, before Malik spoke. "It sounds like…things will be cleared up when Yugi solves his Puzzle."

"Do you really think?" Yugi asked, looking at the pieces unsurely.

"It's our best guess," Ryou added.

"Okay.." Yugi said, "I'll try."

All three hikaris sat on the couch, Yugi sitting in the middle. He picked out individual pieces of his puzzle, putting them together. The first time had taken him years, he remembered, but there were times in the past it broke and he could piece it together again in just minutes. Now, just a little rusty, it would take no time at all. And it didn't, as he masterfully slipped the golden pieces into each other, making a pyramid shape in his hands. The last piece he would put in would be the most important, the center with the Eye of Horus.

As Yugi held the last part in his hand, Puzzle in the other, he looked to his friends. "Are you ready?"

They nodded simultaneously, and Yugi also nodded, sliding the last piece into the center. As he did, a golden light filled the room.

The hikaris screamed at the burning light, sinking into the couch and hiding their eyes. When the light finally died down, they reluctantly opened their eyes.

They screamed more at what they saw.

**Amethyst: Aaaaaand… longest chapter yet! And I brought Malik in 8D**

**Malik: Aww, I didn't get my own POV.**

**Amethyst: Sorry Mal', I'm lazy. R&R, next chapter will come soon!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Amethyst: The continuation!**

**Bakura: No shit, Sherlock.**

**Amethyst: Shut up, before I rewrite you. Disclaimer, my dear Seto~**

**Seto: …AmethystBurns does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. The story is hers, however.**

**Amethyst: Good, obedient character~**

**Seto: …**

_As Yugi held the last part in his hand, Puzzle in the other, he looked to his friends. "Are you ready?"_

_They nodded simultaneously, and Yugi also nodded, sliding the last piece into the center. As he did, a golden light filled the room._

_The hikaris screamed at the burning light, sinking into the couch and hiding their eyes. When the light finally died down, they reluctantly opened their eyes._

_They screamed more at what they saw._

Chapter 5:

Normal POV:

"R-Ra!" Yugi managed to squeak out, with vague recognition of who stood before him.

Ra, the sun god, glowed with an essence similar to, or maybe exactly like, the sun's, but it was considerably dimmer than before. Ra's figure was still barely made out, but even with no visual representation of his expression, but Ra was truly intimidating. And here Ra was, in Yugi's living room, standing nonchalantly.

Yugi bowed in a polite matter, followed by Ryou who pulled Malik into a bow with him. Ra seemingly laughed at their reaction.

"_**Stand Hikaris," **_Ra's voice spoke, _**"Rise so I may speak with you of what has come."**_

Obediently, they lifted from their bows. Eyes were still downcast from Ra's glowing light, and superiority as a god of Egypt.

"What exactly has come?" Malik asked slowly, being the first to break from his speechlessness.

"_**Changes have come, and the changes will greet you today."**_

"Changes?" Yugi questioned, "By bringing our items back?"

"_**Yes, little Hikari,"**_ Ra said, almost earning protest from Yugi at being called little (But didn't receive any because of the difference in rank), _**"Heed what I tell you now, for it will tell of what you need to know…**_

…_**Each of your Yamis had gone to the afterlife, never to return. However, some things have made this transition to the next life unstable…"**_

"Unstable?" Ryou asked curiously, "What happened to make it unstable?"

"_**At least once, your Yamis had endured this world in a body and not as a spirit. That connected them to this life."**_

"The Orichalcos…" Yugi whispered, remembering of when his soul had left his body, leaving Yami in control.

Ryou and Malik exchanged nervous glances, both knowing Ra had meant when they had succumbed to their darker halves.

"_**In order to keep the world from falling into an unbalance, the Yamis could not stay in the afterlife. So, I gave them two options; be dispelled from both lives forever, or living out their days in this life before finally passing on. As well as coming back, they would have to live under certain conditions."**_

"Certain conditions?" Malik repeated, "Like what?"

They couldn't see, but it seemed like Ra was smiling.

"_**That will be explained, but first I think greetings are necessary."**_

The Hikaris weren't given a chance to ask what Ra meant, as another bright flash of light erupted from the figure of Ra. They shied away, protecting their eyes, before the light dimmed considerably once again.

Yugi was the first recover from the second flash, looking back up towards the god. His eyes widened, shrinking again in the light, be his surprise still stuck.

"A-Atemu!" he cried out, making Ryou and Malik look up as well.

Said Yami stood near Ra, clad in gold jewelry and fine cloth of Egypt. His hair was the same as always, like Yugi's but with the extra bolts of blonde hair sticking in the black and red violet mane. He smiled at his hikari, looking at Yugi with crimson eyes lit with joy. Yugi looked to him as well, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

He immediately broke from his trance, and ran up to his Yami to give him a hug. However, as he attempted this, his arms fell through the transparent figure of the pharaoh.

"Nice try, runt."

Ryou's attention shifted from Yugi and Atemu to his own Yami. Bakura stood firm, with tanned skin and scar of his Egyptian past shown, though his eyes and hair will still as wild as before. He was also wearing his own set of ancient wear, of course different from Atemu's. The two locked eyes, before both looked away awkwardly. There were some problems between them.

Malik glared hard at Marik, who wore a lavender cape and similar clothes from Duelist Kingdom. Marik looked back at Malik, a lop-sided, but nervous smile on his face. It was obvious the two had some problems to sort out as well.

Atemu and Yugi looked towards their companions, before the hikaris directed their attention straight back at Ra.

"These conditions you spoke of," Ryou began questioningly as he purposely ignored his Yami for the moment, "What are they?"

"_**I will allow the Yamis to explain themselves," **_Ra said, _**"My time in this realm has been short, but I must depart. I leave you with them as parting gifts." **_As Ra said this, the figure in the light turned away as if to leave, the god's light disappearing with him. Though, the yamis remained with them, except with one difference clear in the normally-lit room. Now, instead of wearing the garb of the afterlife, the yamis had the looks they had retained back when they shared a body with their own hikaris, having pale skin and modern-day clothes to be specific.

"I suppose there is a lot I should explain, then," Atemu said as he ran a hand through the spikes in his hair.

"Go ahead Pharaoh," Bakura sneered, kicking back on the couch as he set his feet on an armrest, "Tell them why we're here."

"I didn't need your permission, Tomb Robber," Atemu retorted, "And stand up, this isn't your home."

"It's fine, Atemu," Yugi reassured, not wanting them to start an argument now, "Can you start explaining, please?"

Atemu directed his attention back at Yugi, then letting out a sigh. "Alright," he said, looking between the three hikaris to see that he had their attention, "Because we're now connected to this world, we cannot go to the Afterlife properly until our time here is done."

"We got that," Malik said, "We wanted to know about the conditions."

"Well, as you know, these two over here," Atemu continued, pointing his fingers at Bakura and Marik, "Couldn't be trusted the first time in this life to be…good."

"It wouldn't have happened if you were a better ruler, idiot Pharaoh," Bakura shot back.

"Idiot Pharaoh," Marik agreed.

Atemu rolled his eyes, going on, "So we, them specifically, can coexist in this world under conditions given to us."

"And the conditions?" Ryou questioned, "What are those exactly?"

"Your letters had an outline of them…" Atemu answered, "But I suppose it was vague. I'll let them tell their own, but I'll share mine. As long as I continue to balance out Yugi's light, I am allowed to reside in this life. My condition is not so…difficult, because I had no bad intentions for this life."

There was a pause as Yugi nodded, Atemu then shooting a glare at Bakura. "You need to say your own conditions."

Bakura scoffed, "Fine, idiot Pharaoh. You would've messed the damn thing up anyway." Bakura sat up on the couch, though slumping back into the cushions lazily. "I have to…_protect_," Bakura said, fumbling with the word, "and be _kind_ to my hikari…"

Ryou winced, seeing as it didn't look like Bakura would attempt to do anything at all. That…and because he knew sharing an apartment with the Tomb Robber wouldn't be fun. "And Marik?" Ryou questioned, as there was an eerie silence.

"I have to be…" Marik said quietly, looking at Malik who prompty glanced away, "Be Malik's friend…"

Bakura started laughing in his seat, "I thought the Pharaoh's condition was petty. Yours, Marik, is just weak!

Marik flared up, turning to Bakura. "Say that again, thief, and I'll shove the Millennium Rod up your-"

"YOU TWO. Shut up!" Atemu commanded, interrupted Marik. Both yamis looked at Atemu with a scowl.

"Make us!"

**Amethyst: I'M SOOOO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED SINCE LIKE…LAST YEAR. I've been so hung up on school and just plain lazy.**

**Bakura: We'll be sure to punish her, readers.**

**Marik: Punishment? *smirks***

**Amethyst: SHOO. Be off with you before I…shave your hair off!**


End file.
